Should the General Sir Redvers Buller statue stay where it is?

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More about the Sir Redvers Buller statue

The triumphalist equestrian statue of Sir Redvers Buller at the junction of Hele Road and New North Road, Exeter, was unveiled on 6 September 1905 after thousands of members of the public had subscribed towards it.

The sculptor was Adrian Jones (1845-1938), whose most famous work is the four-horse chariot at Hyde Park Corner, London.

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The bronze statue of Buller astride his horse “Biffen” weighs four and a half tons and is mounted on a base of Cornish granite weighing 35 tons.

The statue has its back towards Crediton, Buller’s birthplace, which was said to have annoyed people in the town at the time.

General Sir Redvers (pronounced “Reevers”) Buller is one of the few people to have been present at the unveiling of their own statue.

Sir Redvers Henry Buller

Although he was a soldier of undoubted courage and unusual physical strength, his ability as a commander was increasingly questioned at the beginning of the last century, and he was dismissed from his command in 1901 after he broke King’s Regulations by defending his tactics at a public lunch.

The people of the west country expressed their support and admiration for him by erecting the statue.

Later historians have felt that Buller was made a scapegoat for the faults of the Army at the time.

He died at his home, Downes, on his large family estates, and was buried at Crediton.

Evidence of his public spiritedness can be seen in many places in Devon.

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